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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23402026">The Hogwarts Students Assestment Tests</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AncientWolf/pseuds/AncientWolf'>AncientWolf</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Daily Prophet, Gen, Hogwarts, School</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 06:21:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,191</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23402026</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AncientWolf/pseuds/AncientWolf</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Draco Malfoy reads about the improved grades at Hogwarts in the Daily Prophet. Experts attribute the improvement to varios reseons. New books, better teachers, new didactical methods. But they all miss the obvious reasons. Fortunately, there is Rita Skeeter to recify things.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Cards Against Muggles Crack Fest</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Hogwarts Students Assestment Tests</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonnenFlower/gifts">SonnenFlower</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Draco was sitting in his favorite cafe in Diagon Alley, drinking a cup of tea and reading the Daily Prophet. There were the usual headlines on the front page. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>'</span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>Trial against Death Eaters: Which lies will they come up with today?</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>' </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>'</span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>Ten weird things muggles are doing. You won't believe number 7!</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>' </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>‘</span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>Can your relationship survive a love potion? You have to ask your partner these five important questions now!</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>' </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Draco couldn't stand these stupid articles. Of course, muggles were doing weird things — or at least, weird to wizards which wasn't surprising at all. Draco thought about the muggles after the Second Wizard War and had come to the conclusion that, given their lack of magical power, they just had to come up with different means of getting things done.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Knowing the front of the newspaper contained nothing but silly articles, he just skipped the first five pages. On page six there was an article about Hogwarts that sounded interesting: </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Hogwarts students getting better. What are the reasons?’</span>
  </em>
  <span> Draco was intrigued. As far as he knew, Hogwarts stayed as it always had been since he left the school, save for a few small changes. So, why did the grades get better? Certainly, they had just made it simpler in order to make everyone else look good, hadn’t they? Draco knew this had to be it, but he read the article nonetheless.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>'A recent study showed that, over the past five years, the average Hogwarts student scored 4% higher on their N.E.W.T.S. and 11% higher on their O.W.L.S. Experts are still discussing the reasons for these significant improvements. Some attribute the improvements to newer study material that was introduced after the Second Wizard War. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>To further support this hypothesis, Hogwarts recently chose a new book for the subject, Care of Magical Creatures. As the new tome no longer bites  students if not treated appropriately, grades have improved ten-fold. At the time the change was discussed, teacher Rubeus Hagrid told the Daily Prophet, "You obviously only need to stroke the book's spine. The books are perfectly safe and certainly the best teaching material you can get today." Nonetheless, Hogwarts' parent's council insisted on using a different book after a student's finger had to be regrown by Mrs. Pomfrey, the school's matron.'</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Draco remembered this loathsome book all too well. How could anyone in their right mind think it would be appropriate? But then again, it was that idiot Hagrid who chose it...</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The article continued: </span>
  <em>
    <span>'While most experts agree on the effectiveness of this change, many point out that Care of Magical Creatures is only one of many subjects. Hence, this change alone can not explain the overall improvement. These critics claim that some of the new books are certainly worse than previous ones. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>They emphasise that, after the Second Wizard War, many things needed to be changed and added. For example, the books for History of Magic. The shortage of time is why many of the new teaching texts, contrary to previous books,  contained glaring errors and weren't yet brought to the standards of their predecessors. Therefore, many experts have discussed the potential effects of new didactical methods introduced recently. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Such methods include: more group projects, presentations and generally speaking, giving the students more tasks to work on independently from the teacher. In particular, the liberal and progressive experts support this explanation for the improved grades. They argue that these types of tasks teach the students important soft skills, allowing them to become more independent, and by that, more able to improve on their respective weaknesses. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>The more conservative experts, however, are surprised that the grades didn’t become worse given the change in teaching methods. They argue that recently many more distinguished witches and wizards wanted to become teachers and therefore, Hogwarts was able to choose the best of the best.’</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Draco couldn’t stand these dung-brain experts any more. Of course, Hogwarts bought new books, and yes, they tried new methods of teaching since he left. Obviously many distinguished witches and wizards now wanted to become teachers. Disruptive times always brought with them the chance to shape the next generation and by that, the future. Even still, all these idiotic experts missed the wood for the trees. The time period they were considering was exactly the period since Potter, and also he himself, had left the school. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Obviously, the grades became better since then. Who would have ever thought teenagers could learn a thing with a basilisk between the walls trying to kill them. Not to mention the unending cycle of new Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers. Draco was also sure the Triwizard Tournament didn’t help the students at all with concentrating on learning. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>All in all, the years he went to school were for certain some of the most troubled in the recent history of Hogwarts. He was certain that if anyone would ever do the math to compare grades before Potter entered the school and caused a new turmoil each year, they would find that the recent grades were just as good as before. Of course, no one would ever dare to question the impact Potter had on Hogwarts. Well, except for one person. Rita Skeeter would happily disregard all the experts and unmask their hollow words for what they were — hot air.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Draco couldn’t wait to write a letter and direct her attention to that article in the Daily Prophet. Quickly finishing his tea, he paid and apparated home. He immediately went to the desk in his office, took a sheet of parchment and his quill and started writing the letter.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Dear highly-esteemed Rita Skeeter,</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I hope you and the ones dear to you are doing well. I very much enjoyed your recent article about the self enriching nature of the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. Given that house elves naturally like to serve, it is quite logical that such an organisation is purely superfluous.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I am writing to you to bring a recent article in the Daily Prophet about the improved grades of Hogwarts’  students to your attention. I am sure you have already read it. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>While most of the explanations these so-called experts give are consistent, they are still all beating around the bush. The improvements the authors discuss all occured right after Mr. Potter left the school. However, not a single of the experts said a word about the effect of having a student that causes a gigantic turmoil each and every school year such as our mighty savior Harry J. Potter did. Of course, the turmoils Mr. Potter caused were all justified in their core. Nonetheless, I am convinced that most of them could have been handled with much less distraction for most of the student body if he had just informed the competent authorities.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I hope that your investigative talent can bring light onto this matter.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Yours sincerely,</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Draco L. Malfoy</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Draco read the letter over, and satisfied with what he wrote, attached it to his fastest owl and sent it to Rita Skeeter. As he had suspected, contacts were worth more than gold.</span>
</p>
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